Movie Reviews

Welcome, if imperfect, return of the space pirate

Ronnie Clay | Winnsboro, Louisiana | 09/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having first seen Captain Harlock, subtitled, on a Japanese UHF-TV channel here in New York in the late 70's, I was hooked on the highly stylized, sci-fi melodrama. The 42 episode series was quite unlike anything that was on TV at the time and it's unfortunate that it hasn't found some sort of re-release in Japan or here in the U.S. that said, Harlock has been seen here in the US release of the Galaxy Express 999 feature film and the unusual "Arcadia of my Youth" which was produced later but is a prequal to the original TV series."

Stylish space fantasy starring renowned Space Pirate of Just

Bob Savage | Watertown, MA United States | 06/11/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Harlock Saga is stylish, it is fun to watch, but don't expect it to make a whole lot of sense. This series was based upon an adaptation of the story of the Niebelungen gold, and the Twilight of the Gods. The use of Wagner as theme music is very effective. Knowledge of Wagner's Ring Cycle is not necessary to follow the plot, but it would probably enhance your appreciation of the show.

The story had some strange continuity problems, and since this story was a sequel to prior Captain Harlock yarns, characters appear in cameo roles that can be a little confusing (for example, Emeraldas seems to be a part of the team in the first episode, but she disappears without comment, and no mention of her is made in later episodes), but an OVA about a Space Pirate of Justice who saves the universe is probably not the best place to go for a completely believable storyline anyway; if you want to see a space fantasy with stylish animation, watch Harlock Saga and have fun."